Urban Planning and Housing

American Housing Surveyhttp://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/ahs/
The American Housing Survey (AHS) collects data on the nation’s housing, including apartments, single-family homes, mobile homes, vacant housing units, household characteristics, income, housing and neighborhood quality, housing costs, equipment and fuels, size of housing unit, and recent movers. National data are collected in odd numbered years, and data for each of 47 selected metropolitan areas are collected currently about every six years. The national sample covers an average 55,000 housing units. Each metropolitan area sample covers 4,100 or more housing units.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Housing (http://www.cbpp.org)
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a policy organization working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals. The Center’s housing work focuses primarily on federal programs that help the lowest income households afford rental housing.

EveryBlock (http://www.everyblock.com/)
EveryBlock collects all of the news and civic goings-on that have happened recently in 15 cities: Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami-Dade, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle and Washington, DC. On each city’s site, you can type in any address to read local news and public information near you, including various city data like building permits, crimes, and restaurant inspections, as well as news from major newspapers, community weeklies, TV and radio news stations, local specialty publications and local blogs. Everything is classified geographically.

Housingpolicy.org (http://www.housingpolicy.org)
HousingPolicy.org is an online guide to state and local housing policy developed and maintained by the Center for Housing Policy, the research affiliate of the National Housing Conference. The purpose of HousingPolicy.org is to collect and provide examples of proven solutions for expanding the availability of homes for working families and others in a community. The website includes easily accessible information on a broad range of state and local policy tools, as well as guidance on how to put them together to form a comprehensive and effective housing strategy. While geared to state and local decision-makers, HousingPolicy.org is written and designed for use by visitors of all backgrounds and experience levels.

HUD USER Policy Development and Research Information Services (http://www.huduser.org/)
PD&R performs policy analysis, research, surveys, studies, and evaluations, both short- and long-term, to help the Secretary and other principal staff make informed decisions on HUD policies, programs, and budget and legislative proposals. These activities provide the Department and the nation with current information on housing needs, market conditions, and HUD programs, as well as research on important housing and community development issues. Datasets include fair market rents, assisted and subsidized housing programs, the American Housing Survey, property owner surveys, state of the cities data, and more. A full list of their datasets with descriptions can be ordered here.

The Joint Center for Housing Studies (http://www.jchs.harvard.edu)
The Joint Center for Housing Studies is Harvard University’s center for information and research on housing in the United States. The Joint Center analyzes the dynamic relationships between housing markets and economic, demographic, and social trends, providing leaders in government, business, and the non-profit sector with the knowledge needed to develop effective policies and strategies.

National Low Income Housing Coalition (http://nlihc.org/about)
The National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that assures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes. The website has various research and publications on housing issues.

Right to the City (http://www.righttothecity.org/)
Right to the City is a national alliance of membership-based organizations and allies organizing to build a united response to gentrification and displacement in our cities. Their goal is to build a national urban movement for housing, education, health, racial justice and democracy. The website includes current news, reports, movement resources, and analysis on housing issues from around the country.

Housing Assistance Council (http://www.ruralhome.org/)
A nonprofit corporation headquartered in Washington, D.C., the HAC has been helping local organizations build affordable homes in rural America since 1971. HAC emphasizes local solutions, empowerment of the poor, reduced dependence, and self-help strategies. HAC assists in the development of both single- and multi-family homes and promotes home ownership for working low-income rural families through a self-help, “sweat equity” construction method. The website provides data on population, income, poverty, home mortgages, housing units, and unemployment for rural areas.

Healthy City (http://www.healthycity.org)
HealthyCity.org is an online community service and policy research tool for all of Los Angeles County. Healthy City provides unprecedented access to the largest database of community resources and localized demographic and health data on a cutting-edge GIS mapping platform. HealthyCity.org allows social service providers to be instantly connected to thousands of services and resources throughout the region and community leaders and policy makers to instantly view the demographic, economic, and health status of a community and evaluate how resources are distributed to address their community’s needs.

The Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse (http://flhousingdata.shimberg.ufl.edu/)
The Florida Housing Data Clearinghouse (FHDC) was founded in 2000 to provide public access to data on Florida’s housing needs, housing supply, subsidized rental housing, and household demographics. Sources of the data available from FHDC include the U.S. Census, other federal population and housing surveys, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Housing Service, Florida Housing Finance Corporation, local housing finance authorities, Public Housing Agencies, the Florida Association of Realtors, the Florida Department of Revenue, the Florida Agency of Workforce Innovation, and the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida.

Washington Center for Real Estate Researchhttp://wcrer.be.washington.edu/
Quarterly information on housing markets for Washington State and each county. Topics covered include: Housing Resales, Home Prices, Building Permits, and Housing Affordability. A summary table is posted six weeks after the end of a quarter. Other tables are posted 6 weeks after that. You can extract data into a PDF table or Excel file by using the “Build Your Own Report” feature. Also has results of semi-annual surveys of apartment vacancies and rents (market rate) in apartment projects with at least five units (20 in the Seattle area). Data covers 17 markets (18 counties) throughout the state. Covered markets represent over 90 percent of market-rate apartments.